Rome, Italy - July 18 - Hours upon hours of training will come to fruition in less than 24 hours as the water polo portion of the 2009 FINA World Championships kicks off in Rome, Italy. First in line will be the Women's Senior National Team as they take on Kazakhstan on Sunday at 12:10pm local time. This is followed on Monday evening by the Men's Senior National Team taking on the host, Italy at 9:00pm local time, in what is likely to have a large home crowd.
Each squad will open with three games in group play and based off the standings achieved there will advance into crossover matches. Regardless the two squads enter these World Championships with expectations. The Women's team are defending champions, while the men leaped up to the elite of men's water polo with a Silver Medal finish in Beijing in 2008.
The women have had a stranglehold on a position in the top three for the better part of three years. They fully understand the idea of getting to the summit and fighting to stay there. Now ranked second in the world coming off last year's Beijing Olympics, they enter the FINA World Championships in Rome, looking to reposition themselves as the top dogs in the sport, a spot they held the last time this event took place—March 2007.
As for the Men's Senior National Team, entering a major international tournament as one of the favorites is a new perspective after several years of playing the underdog. It was 20 years sans Olympic Medal when the men's team went on a dramatic run a year ago in China to claim the Silver. With that they head to Italy as the second-ranked team in the world, looking to claim their first-ever World Championship.
The best the men have ever seen are a pair of fourth-place finishes in the late 80s and early 90s, and recent history hasn't been so kind (i.e., an 11
th-place finish in 2005; a ninth-place mark in 2007). Clearly the tone has changed for this squad, and they now enter the action expecting excellent results. "Expectations are certainly higher now," says Head Coach Terry Schroeder. "We won't be able to surprise anyone. Once you've climbed into that top three, you're a marked team, and everyone will come prepared with their best games for us. It'll be a good challenge for us. We want to prove to everyone that last summer's performance was not a fluke, and that we're one of the best teams in the world."
New Women's Head Coach Adam Krikorian enters just his second major competition following the FINA World League Super Final in Kirishi, Russia, but has nearly the entire team from 2008 on board. Led by Captain Brenda Villa and fellow veterans such as Heather Petri and Moriah van Norman, the experienced group is likely to tangle with the usual suspects such as Australia, Hungary, and defending Olympic Champion, the Netherlands.
"I don't believe expectations ever change with this program," Krikorian said. "No matter who the coach is, or who the athletes are, a medal is what we're striving for. As it relates to the team, I'd expect a different dynamic than in years past, just due to the fact that there's a new coaching staff and not much time to train. This may lead to a few bumps along the way, but hopefully it won't be anything we can't overcome."
Schroeder, a nominee this year for the USOC Hall of Fame, has an veteran-laden squad for Rome as well and hopes to get this group to the pinnacle of international water polo—a number-one ranking. On the heels of the FINA World League Super Final in Montenegro,
[DU1] the team enters in competition mode.
The men's tournament finds Gold Medal-match foe Hungary along with Croatia and Serbia among others, as Europe's best prepares to descend upon Rome. The United States draw finds them opening with Italy in their own pool. "I like our draw," says Schroeder. "It's interesting how we've drawn the home team to start the 2007 World Championships, 2008 Olympics, and now this event. This is an exciting way to begin a tournament."
That a top finish in Rome would be the first ever for the men at the World Championships isn't lost on team captain Tony Azevedo. "Bringing home gold from this World Championships would definitely be the icing on the cake for us," he says. "The 2008 Olympics were just an example of how talented our team is. I would like to continue this by winning every tournament so that every kid playing in the United States knows that with dedication one day he or she might be able to play for the best team in the world."
As for the women they get play underway with Kazakhstan, Russia, and Greece. Borat jokes aside, this will be an immediate test for the women, as both Russia and Greece were 2008 Olympic participants. "I don't believe there's much, if any, difference between the top eight to 10 teams in the world, so in my view any draw is tough," noted Kirkorian. "Ultimately you're going to have to beat very good teams to medal, plain and simple. I will say, though, that both Greece and Russia seemed to have disappointing Olympics for their high standards, so in that sense I'm worried they may have a lot to prove."
One factor that may add extra motivation to both squads is the fact that the chances to perform on the world stage are limited. "These major events only come around once a year, and in the case of the World Championships, once every two years," Krikorian says. "It goes without saying that we always want to be at or near the top. But what I find to be most important is that we all use these competitions to better ourselves individually and as a team."
The leadup to this summer's action has not been nearly the same as in 2008, an Olympic year is unlike any other, but it hasn't changed the goals or opportunity for either team. The men hope to show they belong at the top; the women will do their best to stay there. Regardless, come the end of these championships, both teams plan on being among the world's best.
